Amaranthine
by xi.writes
Summary: Sasuke mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind a shimmering serpent scale half-stained with fresh blood. Fearing for his life, a desperate Sakura seeks help from an unlikely source… and for the first time in centuries, Itachi, Lord of the Unseelie, finds himself suitably diverted. (Unrepentantly AU, with supernatural themes.)
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

 **o.o0o.o**

 _'Akatsuki'_ _._

 _With dubious, wary eyes, I stared up at the neon red characters flashing in the muggy_ _summer_ _night_ _._ _Was this really a haunt of the_ _fae lord_ _that_ _could_ _help me find Sasuke_ _?_

 _The night was still young ('_ _10_ _.15'_ _,_ _a_ _quick g_ _lance down_ _at my watch informed me) and from the restless quiet in the air and the mere handful of loiterers at the front entrance, it seemed as though the_ _nightclub_ _was just opening for the evening._

 _Good. The fewer people (or..._ _beings_ _) in there, the better. I didn't particularly fancy going into a_ _supernatural_ _dive_ _bar in full swing – not now, not ever – but under the current circumstances, it wasn't_ _simply_ _a matter of preference._

 _Still_ _, I found myself hesitating at the entrance, absent_ _mindedly smoothing down the sleeves of m_ _y pressed white shirt. Akatsuki was_ _a watering hole_ _for those with thirsts of_ _an… unnatural_ _kind, and even before I stepped foot inside, I could smell the stench of lust and desp_ _eration_ _seeping through its walls, coating the_ _dimly lit, glittering_ _surfaces like the lingering_ _ghosts_ _of_ _devoured souls and unwise bargains sealed in blood_ _._

 _Gnawing on my lip, I fought against the sensible urge to_ _spin_ _right around, get back into the car and drive away as fast as I could._

 _Akatsuki_ _was the last place I wanted to be._

 _But I was desperate._

 _As much as it pained me to admit, I needed help –_ _supernatural_ _help – and there was no one else to turn to._ _Sasuke_ _'s life could be at stake_ _. 'Besides,' I told myself, trying my hardest to think positively. 'Morally questionable establishment aside, this_ _Itachi_ _has to have at least some redeeming qualities for_ _Sasuke to have spoken so fondly of him_ _.'_

 _Yeah, that had to be it._

 _'…Or maybe,_ _Sakura_ _dear, you're about to make the worst decision in your life. The_ _last_ _decision in your life.'_

 _Quickly, I_ _shut off_ _the more rational, self-preserving part of my brain before I could lose my nerve. Clutching the_ _glimmering violet scale_ _in my pocket like a lifeline, I took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness._

 **o.o0o.o**

Itachi was bored.

Completely, mind-numbingly _bored._

Not that boredom was a particularly novel feeling for him. At his age, boredom had become a constant bedfellow, as predictable as the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. Nursing a glass of goblin whiskey in one hand, Itachi carelessly waved over the club's surly security to remove the avaricious peons grovelling at his feet. Barely moonrise and already there were supplicants prostrating themselves before him. If they weren't begging him to break the foolhardy contracts they had entered with the Unseelie court, they were begging to be given one. The constant, desperate attention was so… tiresome.

"Itachi."

Lazily, Itachi's eyes flicked up to his faithful assistant, who had strode up to his table, her new Valentino pumps clacking. The studs embedded in the blood-red leather glinted almost as forebodingly as the sharp fangs peeking beneath her painted, pouty upper lip. "…Yes, Ino?"

Propping an unnaturally pale, red-lacquered hand on one hip, she announced, "There's a situation. You might want to give it some attention."

"Doubtful."

"It's a human girl. She wants to speak to you."

Itachi raised a disinterested brow. "…That's hardly unusual."

"She mentioned Sasuke."

Itachi stilled. There were precious few individuals who knew of his ties to Sasuke _–_ he had personally made sure of that. And though Itachi had long since lost interest in the tedious affairs of the human world, he still tried to keep half an eye on his foolish half-brother's exploits. "… _Sasuke_?"

Ino smirked, tossing her blonde ponytail in an unspoken _'I told you so'_. "…I'll tell her you're available for a chat," she drawled, before smugly slipping away.

With hooded eyes, Itachi leaned back in his seat to observe the young woman cautiously following Ino into the corner of the club where he sometimes held court. She was fine-boned and slender, with the most outlandish shock of strawberry pink hair – even for underworld standards. It was the ridiculous colour that brought back vague memories of two puckish children, a pink-haired little girl and blond-haired little boy, racing around a park with a much younger Sasuke, who'd been sullen and subdued even then. _'Oh, yes. His two little friends.'_ Itachi thought. ' _How quickly humans grow.'_ With her freshly-scrubbed face and modest, drably professional attire, the girl-turned-woman looked as out-of-place as a selkie out of water, a beacon of goodwill amidst the hungry eyes, vicious laughter and eternal gloom of this cursed joint.

He regarded her with a hint of amusement as she came to a stop before him, a healthy distance away. Her hands were clenched by her sides – she was anxious, but not entirely fearful.

"Yes?" Itachi couldn't help but acknowledge her. Sasuke aside, his evening was proving to be much more diverting than expected, and astonishment came so rarely these days.

"Lord Itachi?" Her voice was sweet and pleasantly lilting, with the barest of a tremor belying her trepidation.

Itachi inclined his head, feeling another spike of bemusement at the pretty girl who gazed so hopefully at him with those enormous, earnest green eyes.

"I'm Sakura. Sakura Haruno. I need your help, sir. I don't know who else to go to."

Without taking his eyes off her face, Itachi raised one brow minutely, prompting her to continue. Sakura bit her lip, her gaze flitting nervously to the growing crowd, many of whom were staring with unabashed interest at the two almost comically contrasting figures in the corner. "May I…" she began in hesitant tones. "May I speak with you privately, Lord Itachi?"

Inwardly, Itachi sighed. However delicately or indelicately phrased, most females (human or otherwise) came to bargain with the Lord of the Unseelie. Beauty, youth, power, money... it was always the same old insipid requests. And to be spoken to 'privately'… it wasn't the first time he'd heard _that_ proposition either. "Oh?" he asked, disappointed in spite of himself. So much for being different. "And why would I want to do that?"

But Sakura only lifted her head at the challenge, stubbornly standing her ground. "Because," she replied coolly, extracting the scale from the pocket and sliding it across the table. Even in the dim light, it glimmered too brightly to be anything but otherworldly. One corner was stained rust-brown, the leftover remnants of dried blood. "It concerns _this_."

 **o.o0o.o**

* * *

 _ **A/N:** So this plot-bunny grabbed me by the ankles and refused to let go. Much darker in tone than my other Itachi/Sakura tale, updates to 'Amaranthine' will be on the slow-burner, and will pick up once 'The Geis' is completed._


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

 **o.o0o.o**

 _When the intimidatingly gorgeous, blonde Upyr guided me to the back of the nightclub and towards Itachi's lounging figure, it was the first time, in all twenty-four years of my short existence, seeing an Unseelie in the flesh. Unlike many of the other denizens of the Underworld, the fae mostly kept to themselves and their own Courts, a realm inaccessible to humans except by express invitation. The Unseelie usually didn't approach humans unless sought. The Seelie refused to bargain with humans at all._

 _In the past, Sasuke had given me reluctant, brusque descriptions of the mysterious fae lord who'd flitted in and out of his childhood. I thought I knew what to expect._

 _But the ancient, ageless face of the Lord of the Unseelie stopped me in my tracks._

 _I was prepared for red eyes, pale skin, long black hair._

 _I was unprepared for a mien of such savage and terrible beauty that the blood ran cold in my veins. Even in the dim light, the expression in his pupil-less, crimson eyes was as wild as a forest fire, and as remote as the dawn._

 _Despite his initial indifference to my petition, when I pulled out the blood-stained scale, I knew I'd finally piqued his interest. Picking up the glittering object from the table, he examined it for a long, agonising moment. Then, Itachi led me into a private booth, a velvet-lined, impossibly intimate space centred around a raised viewing platform used for entertainment of a very particular kind._

" _Have a seat."_

 _With an elegant hand, he gestured in the direction of the extravagant chaise lounge positioned in front of the platform. At his cue, I cautiously settled at the foot of the chaise, trying not to cower into the luxurious, buttery leather seat._

 _The walls closed in. I felt powerless, small, keenly reminded of my own mortality, a rabbit staring into gleaming eyes of a panther as he stalked in slow, languid steps towards me. The worst part of it was, I knew that Itachi was fully aware of the unsettling effect he had on me_ – _and if the obvious amusement in his eyes was anything to go by, he no doubt took a perverse pleasure from it._

 _As he draped himself at the other end of the chaise, his crossed leg inches from my thigh, I clung to the tenets of the Treaty like a limpet. I had been warned of the treacherous, malevolent nature of the Unseelie._

 _But I had made no promises, broken no bargain. Under the Law, he couldn't harm me._

 _It was that one desperate thought that kept my back straight and my hands from trembling._

 _Itachi regarded me through veiled, vermillion eyes. "Now," he commanded, the serpent scale dangling loosely between two fingers. "Tell me how you came about this."_

 **o.o0o.o**

She really was a curious little thing – making such a stubborn show of bravado despite her palpable discomfort at the compromising position she had found herself in – that Itachi would have laughed outright, had he been a lesser fae.

All hint of amusement, however, instantly vanished when she began to relay the circumstances that had brought her to Akatsuki.

"About a week ago, Sasuke completely stopped responding to any of my texts or calls. I tried dropping by his apartment a couple of times, but the lights were never on and he never answered the door. Eventually, I got worried enough to break into his apartment to check on him. Everything was untouched, his keys, wallet and phone were all at home, but Sasuke was missing. There was no note, no indication of when he'd left or where he'd gone… and then I found the bloodied scale on his pillow." Sakura paused, shooting Itachi a pleading look. "I'm scared something's happened to him, that he's gotten himself into some kind of trouble. Lord Itachi, will you help me find him?"

Itachi tilted his head. "Why would I do that?" he asked for the second time that night, nothing in his expression betraying the cold prick of concern he felt after hearing of Sasuke's mysterious disappearance.

"When we were back in the orphanage, Sasuke mentioned you'd always mysteriously show up when he found himself in trouble. I— I thought you might… care for him, at least a little."

"I owed his mother a debt. I was upholding my part of a bargain she made with me, nothing more." he returned coolly. Itachi didn't tell her that he would begin to make discreet inquiries into the origins of the serpent scale as soon as he'd sent her away.

Frustrated by his seeming indifference, Sakura's hands clenched at her sides. She drew in a breath, and then sat up even straighter in her seat, as if she was screwing up her resolve. "Then I'll make one with you, too, sir."

Itachi blinked, surprised at her audacity. Only fools – or the truly desperate – struck bargains with the Unseelie. "Oh?" he asked, his calculating mind immediately recognising the advantages of this unexpected turn of events. If his actions were perceived to be purely transactional, his relationship to Sasuke would remain a secret, an inconvenient weakness that none could exploit. ' _Yes_ ', he thought, ' _a bargain would be most advantageous._ ' "...And what would you offer me?"

"I could—" Sakura began haltingly. "I could pay you."

The mischievous part of him couldn't help toy with her, just a little. "What use have I for human currency?"

"What would you like then?"

He smirked. Truthfully, there was nothing he wanted from her. Then again, he hadn't been this entertained by a human for a very long time. Having the girl around would be… amusing, he decided. He was sure he'd find something useful for her to do. "I will lend you my assistance... in return for four years of services rendered."

Sakura stilled, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What kinds of services, exactly?"

Itachi suppressed a laugh. Her worries were so transparent, and – unbeknownst to her – utterly unwarranted. "Nothing _untoward_ ," he assured silkily. "Or illegal."

She clenched her jaw, struggling to rein in her annoyance. In her frustration, her voice lost some of its cautious respectfulness. "You aren't going to be more specific, are you?"

"When the time comes for me to collect, you will know."

Itachi watched with undisguised alacrity as Sakura gnawed at her lower lip, mulling over the cryptic terms. Already he could feel the magic gathering in the air.

"Do we have a bargain, Sakura?" he purred, rolling the syllables of her name on his tongue like the scale he rolled indolently between dexterous fingers. It had a devastating, visceral effect on the girl. Itachi didn't miss the sudden hitch in her breath, or the way her pupils blew wide, ringed with only a thin sliver of green. His brow arched in challenge. "Is Sasuke worth four years of your own life?"

Sakura swallowed, briefly shutting her eyes. When she spoke, her voice shook. "We— we have a bargain, Lord Itachi."

In spite of her apprehension, the luminous eyes that opened again were unwavering and resolute. Briefly, Itachi wondered about the relationship this slip of a girl shared with his half-brother. Were they sweethearts? Lovers? What was it about Sasuke that inspired such loyalty – such _devotion_ – from her?

Shaking his head at the maudlin direction his thoughts were taking him, Itachi refocused on sealing the magical contract.

Between one heartbeat and the next, he was leaning over the girl, one hand lightly clasped around the nape of her neck, fingers tangled in the silky pink locks that skimmed her thin shoulders. Sakura froze, inhaling sharply. With deliberate slowness, Itachi leaned forward until his breath tickled against the delicate shell of her ear. He felt her shudder at his nearness, her pulse fluttering madly under his thumb.

"So mote it be," he whispered, to complete the sealing, before leisurely drawing away.

On her neck, branded in red and white ink in the place where his thumb had rested, was a tiny, fan-shaped Mark.

 **o.o0o.o**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

 **o.o0o.o**

 _Once the words were out, there was no time to think, no time to take back the Faustian pact I'd made. Itachi moved so fast that I didn't even have time to react_ – _and suddenly there was only a space of a whisper between us, the alien wildness of his presence bearing down on me, the heat of his fingertips like a brand on my skin. Caught in the power of his magic, suspended between inexplicable lust and crippling terror, I barely registered the words he spoke over the roaring in my ears. It was only when Itachi had withdrawn that I remembered how to breathe._

 _As great gulps of welcome oxygen flooded back into my lungs, I scowled, unsure of whether I was angrier at Itachi for his casual invasion of my personal space, or my own traitorous body for freezing up instead of shoving him away._

 _The pulse point over my carotid artery throbbed with a palpable heat. My hand reached up to cup the spot protectively. "What did you do to me?!"_

 _The corner of his mouth curled up in shadow of a smirk. Instead of answering, Itachi extracted a sleek, dark object from his pocket._

 _When I registered what it was, my mouth dropped open in shock. There was something so incongruous about the sight before me that the question tumbled from my lips unbidden. "...the Fae use cellphones?"_

" _Only when it suits us," Itachi replied simply. Dialling a few numbers, he turned his attention to the call._

" _Is Inuzaka there?"_

 _A short pause._

" _Yes. Bring him in, please."_

 **o.o0o.o**

Usually the Unseelie didn't have much to do with the Were clan. But Kiba Inuzaka had his ear (or more precisely, _nose_ ) to the ground when it came to the comings and going of Underworld denizens, and Were magic definitely had its uses. Over the years, Itachi and Kiba had built up an understanding of sorts, based on the exchange of calculated, mutual favours.

Silence descended in the dimly-lit room as they waited for Kiba to arrive - Itachi as still as stone, Sakura fidgeting uncomfortably beside him.

They didn't have to wait long.

A smart rap sounded at the door, and then Ino was announcing the Were in, a sliver of haughty condescension in her tone. There was no love lost between the Weres and the Upyr.

Kiba ignored her. He strode into the room with his usual cocky gait, his faithful hound an enormous white shadow at his heels.

"Uchiha," he acknowledged. With nowhere left to sit, the shaggy-haired Were slouched back against the base of the platform, his elbows braced against the floor of the stage. Meanwhile, his dog – as gregarious as his master – made a beeline in Sakura's direction, snuffling enthusiastically at her legs. After a moment's hesitation, the girl extended a cautious hand for the beast to sniff. Immediately the dog gave her knuckles a sloppy lick, before rolling over, begging to be petted.

Kiba grinned, distorting the triangular red markings on his cheeks. "Akamaru likes you." Itachi didn't miss the way his eyes raked over Sakura's figure, lingering on the mark on her neck, or the way the girl tensed under his wolfish, assessing gaze before returning his smile with a hesitant one of her own. Wickedly sharp canines flashed in the light. "He has very good taste."

Itachi decided to put an end to the exchange. "Inuzaka."

Kiba's attention flicked back to Unseelie lord. Itachi held up the scale. "Does this look familiar to you?"

Slitted eyes narrowed. Pushing himself away from the platform, Kiba came forward. Wordlessly, Itachi dropped the scale into his outstretched palm. The Were examined it for a long moment, before holding it up to his nose and giving the scale several careful sniffs.

After a few moments, Kiba shook his head. "Unfamiliar signature, sorry." He tossed the scaled back at Itachi, who caught it with ease. "I have no idea who it is. Where'd you find it?"

This time, it was Sakura who piped up. "My friend's gone missing. This was left behind in his room."

Kiba paused. "...Missing, did you say?"

Itachi leaned forward, gaze sharpening. "Have there been others?"

"Not in Leaf, that I know of. But a contact in Cloud mentioned something about a rash of mysterious human disappearances in Kumogakure."

Sakura's hand still in Akamaru's fur. "Do you think there could be a link?"

Kiba shrugged. "Could be. They have yet to find the source."

 **o.o0o.o**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

 **o.o0o.o**

 _I would like to say that I dove into a full-scale investigation following the Were's disturbing revelations, but that would be wishful thinking on my part. Instead, Itachi informed me in no uncertain terms that I was to return to my life, and that he would make the necessary inquiries in Cloud country._

" _But_ — _"_

 _Itachi quirked an eyebrow at me. "Are you afraid that I will not uphold my end of the bargain?" he challenged in deceptively mild tones._

 _My mouth closed, words of protest dying in my throat._

" _Your worries are unfounded." There was a sly cant to his lips when he continued. "...An Uchiha always pays his debts."_

 _I shivered. There was something entirely too ominous about that bland, innocent-sounding promise, and I wasn't sure whether to take the words as reassurance, or threat._

 _Before I could formulate a response, Itachi flicked two fingers at me. "I will fetch you when there is more information."_

 _And that was that, a clear dismissal if I ever heard one. Like a recalcitrant child, deemed to be too much of a nuisance to be left running underfoot, I was sent home._

 _And thus concluded my first meeting with the Unseelie Lord._

 _After that, there was nothing to do but to wait. My boys were all the family I had, and with Naruto deployed in Sand and Sasuke missing, I threw myself into work, taking on extra shifts at the hospital in an attempt to distract myself from the unproductive, nail-biting worry. Most nights saw me collapsing across my bed in an exhausted stupor, but sleep brought me no reprieve._

 _My dreams were at once vivid, yet formless, and I would always find myself waking up with a start, tangled in my rumpled, sweat-soaked sheets and clutching the glimmering scale like a lifeline, the jagged edges leaving deep ridges in my palm._

 **o.o0o.o**

Sakura's apartment was on the second floor of a crumbling apartment complex, situated at the fringes of a predominantly blue-collar district that was only just showing signs of gentrification. With laughable ease, Itachi let himself in through the living room window, his sharp, feline eyes giving a cursory sweep of the nondescript space. The apartment was furnished in the spartan, pragmatic manner of someone who had not long left the vagaries of poverty behind them, who was once frugal by necessity and now remained so by force of habit. The lone, somewhat sad-looking cactus plant on the countertop spoke of the casual negligence of an occupant who was not often at home.

Leaving the window half-open, Itachi settled himself on the ledge to wait. If his instincts proved correct, said occupant would be returning soon.

Moments later, rustles and light stomping was heard outside the front door, followed by the telltale sounds of a key jiggling in its lock.

Ah, right on time.

Fluorescent bulbs flickered to life as the girl stumbled into the room, the door swinging shut behind her with a soft snick. From his position on the windowsill, draped in casual repose, the Unseelie watched as Sakura gave an enormous yawn, absentmindedly kicking off her shoes. She was completely oblivious to her unannounced houseguest.

Itachi smirked.

"Hello, Sakura," he said, waiting with mischievous anticipation for her reaction.

He was not disappointed.

Sakura shrieked, nearly jumping a foot in the air in alarm. Swearing loudly, the bag of groceries she was holding fell to the floor with a dull thud. Startled green eyes fixed themselves on the amused fae lord at the window, the expressive orbs reflecting thoughts of half-contemplated murder and bald relief.

"Lord Itachi," she greeted, as an apple bounced across the floor, landing by his booted feet.

Without taking his eyes off the pink-haired woman, Itachi bent down and picked up the wayward item. The harsh shadows cast by the halogen lights overhead made the bags under her eyes look like heavy purple bruises on her otherwise alabaster skin. "You look rather worse for wear."

"Geez, you sure know how to flatter a girl." Sakura quipped sarcastically. Almost immediately, she clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in mortification when she remembered exactly whom she was addressing. "Oh god, I'm sorry," she stammered, clearly worried about offending the sensibilities of an age-old Unseelie Lord. "It's the sleep deprivation talking. I didn't mean to be rude, sir."

Itachi merely extended his arm, the apple resting loosely in his palm. He smiled inwardly. There it was again, the plucky, vivacious spirit that he had caught glimpses of at _Akatsuki_. Much more diverting than the wary, careful deference humans always defaulted to in his presence.

He watched as she took hesitant steps in his direction, gingerly taking the proffered apple before dropping it in the empty fruit bowl on the kitchen bench. "I haven't been sleeping well, these past few weeks," she finally confessed. "I keep having these strange dreams, and—"

"Strange dreams?" Itachi interrupted, gaze sharpening.

"Yeah, I don't really remember them, but I always feel so perturbed and tired afterwards, like I haven't really slept at all."

Vermillion eyes narrowed, as a seed of suspicion took root. His thoughts flickered to the reports his sources had procured on the missing persons in Cloud. "Were you holding the scale?"

"Yeah, it's really weird." There was a note of bewilderment in her voice. "I must be unconsciously reaching for it in my sleep, or something."

Itachi's suspicion grew. The pinwheels in his eyes began to spin as he activated his magic. "Sakura."

The girl looked up at his commanding tone. Like a fly in a spider's insidious web, her gaze was caught and held by the spinning tomoe, and Sakura could not tear her eyes away. Her eyelids fluttered, her thin frame swaying.

"What are you doing?" she whispered fearfully, before her expressive eyes rolled back and her body finally gave up its battle against gravity. Itachi caught her before she could collapse onto the floor. In smooth, efficient movements, he scooped her up in his arms and deposited her prone form on the battered couch which had clearly seen better days. With surprising gentleness, the fae lord grazed his thumb over the spot on her neck where he had marked her some weeks before. As the red and white swirls of the Uchiha seal glowed to life, he leaned down and murmured a reply that would go unheard by the blissfully sleeping girl.

"I am showing you your dreams."

 **o.o0o.o**

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Two lines in this chapter are heavily inspired (read: borrowed without permission) from Game of Thrones and Labyrinth respectively. *shrugs helplessly* Please don't sue me._


End file.
